lebensraum

exhibition schedule: april 2003

living space, space for life, space for the living, some translations loosely descriptive of the original phrase of lebensraum, a term coined by geo politician friedrich ratzel (1844-1904) defining the ultimate force in history, specifically the will and permanent struggle to define and maintain a lebensraum. karl haushofer, publicist for the alldeutschen verbands, reiterates the term after the first world war; lebensraum evolves into a synonym for mature german world politics. the best known adaptation of the term of course surfaces in 1924 under the penmanship of adolf hitler (mein kampf) who replaces the haushofers peaceful expansionism into what becomes the racist propaganda slogan for the german superiority over all slavic cultures. to define the central idea under which general plan east, or the east expansion more land for the german people is justified. the motivation for the new notion of lebensraum evolves into the national socialistic expansionism. 1941, the message of new lebensraum german expansionism in the east manifests one of the cruelest and bloodiest chapters in second world war history, the invasion of the former soviet union through the reichswehr commences. german history, the third reich and the second world war is a deeply moving subject, for it describes the moment of the first global reorganization. new divisions and new alliances are given birth. the NATO and the united nation, the liberation of europe through the united states, the beginning of the cold war, the creation of the state of israel, and american drafting of the japanese constitution gradually shape a new global awareness, a new global lebensraum. new delineation of political, geographic and ideological space descends on an Old World. society. people realign themselves, erect walls, close borders, create settlements and try to redefine what has been destroyed. or taken by force. consequentially, within the last fifty years, those walls have fallen, borders shifted new lebensraum conquered, new walls built and new enemies found. the:artist:network addresses issues of lebensraum april 4 2002. this curatorial will focus on artistic and architectural interpretations of living space. it examines present connotations in a post 9/11 nation, a political climate with homeland securityand war as a central agenda, fear and distrust as a psychological condition, perhaps ratified global information streams, energy, and technological insecurity as a result. For this curatorial project, the:artist:networknew york will collaborate with other art spaces in guadalajara mexico, the tigerhof, switzerland and its own new york gallery space. selected professionals have been chosen to collaborate and contribute their analysis of lebensraum as a spatial, artistic concept within a geopolitical reality. all exhibition spaces will be linked for remote hook-up (Video conference) and each space will display parts of the physical installations that will include sculpture, video feeds, projections, photography, three dimensional computer programs and rapid prototyping. the curators are interested to expand the curatorial to other exhibitions spaces in an effort to work with local artists again to expand the contents of the exhibitions. high technology, videoconference rigs and an interactive website will be used to monitor and represent parts of the overall installation. participating artists include jeffrey gomperts, (fakeshop), louis cespedes, alfredo hidalgo, jose salinas, and stocker seelig curated by marc hungerbuehler for the:artist:network.